Open notebook
Design notes, budgets, schedules, vendor research, and mistakes belong in the record.
The point
An individual should be able to reach orbit.
GTO is a build-in-public proof of concept: design the smallest credible satellite mission, understand the paperwork and costs, integrate with a launch provider, and document the whole thing without pretending the hard parts are easy.
Public record
The mission log will include the real tradeoffs.
The useful story is not just the final launch photo. It is the chain of choices that make the mission possible: what gets cut, what must be tested, where money goes, which regulations matter, and what a responsible personal satellite project actually requires.
No false certainty
Unknowns stay visible until they are resolved by evidence, paperwork, testing, or cash.
Responsible orbit
Compliance, debris mitigation, and radio licensing are part of the mission, not footnotes.
Status
First: make the map.
The project is in early planning. The immediate work is to define a credible minimum mission, estimate the cost floor, identify regulatory gates, and choose a documentation rhythm that can survive contact with real life.
Mission definition
Choose objectives, payload scope, bus assumptions, and the first credible budget.
Regulatory path
Map licensing, radio coordination, debris mitigation, launch integration, and insurance.
Build log
Publish the research, decisions, dead ends, and the first hardware/software experiments.